Methodical, year-on-year growth has been the story of Charlie Kimball’s first three years in IndyCar.

The Camarillo, Calif. native was admittedly in at the deep end in 2011, in a six-driver rookie class, as second driver at Chip Ganassi Racing’s new second two-car team that was down on data, information and available chassis compared to the sister Target squad.

In 2012, the points standing for Kimball didn’t change, but the results did. A second at Toronto – featuring arguably the pass of that year at Turn 3 – was the highlight among a few other moments.

More than any of that? There was a huge qualifying leap year-on-year for the driver of the No. 83 Novo Nordisk entry. In 2012, Kimball’s qualifying average was 17.3; in 2013, that jumped to 12.8, a full five positions that would ultimately pay dividends and lead to more top-10 finishes.

As a result, Kimball ended a surprise, but deserved ninth in last year’s points standings after finishing 19th each of his first two seasons. He was ahead of illustrious names such as Dario Franchitti, Tony Kanaan, and his former “CGR 2” teammate Graham Rahal – the latter by a full nine positions.

As Kimball and his engineer Brad Goldberg continued to grow, the team dynamic improved too with Kimball’s now-solo “CGR 2” effort more in line with the Target twins. As 2014 begins with the fourth car back in play, now driven by Ryan Briscoe, Kimball hopes the dynamic can carry over.

“Last year the integration was maybe a little smoother because there were only three data points, it was quieter,” Kimball said during IndyCar media day in Orlando.

“I think the single best definition of teamwork I’ve ever seen is the number of crew guys in a tiny Mid-Ohio sports car garage rebuilding a car after I crashed in practice so I could go out for qualifying and qualify fifth,” he added. “It didn’t matter what color shirts they were wearing, they were all in working on the car getting it ready to go.”

For 2014, Kimball, like the rest of the CGR crew, will go through a change in the shift to a Chevrolet engine. It will mark the first time the 29-year-old has gone through an engine change process in his IndyCar career.

“It’s not just unbolt an engine, slide another one in. There’s electronics packages, so many mechanical parts and pieces to make it work,” Kimball explained. “The transition has been pretty painless and very seamless. To be able to jump in the car the first day, do as many miles as we wanted, getting used to it, has been surprising, but also very, very nice.”

Compared to fellow 2011 rookies James Hinchcliffe and JR Hildebrand, the latter of whom is sidelined full-time heading into 2014, Kimball has flown a little under the radar and let his driving now do the talking.

That’s by choice. While Hinchcliffe can grab the sound bites, Kimball can grab the results for the team without ever making a big scene of it.

“I think there are certain drivers with bigger personalities,” Kimball explained. “Part of it is I think my upbringing has never been real outspoken. I’ve always tried to be pretty quiet.

“Growing up my dad always had a saying, and I will inevitably screw this up, but, ‘It’s better to keep your mouth shut and thought a fool than open it and confirm the fact.’

“I think I’ve always tried to live by that and as much as possible let whatever it is I’m doing, be it on the track, young at school, on the tennis court, let my driving do the talking for me.”

His driving – to those with a keen eye of the IndyCar Series over the last two years – has definitely begun to do just that more than his national presence with Novo Nordisk.

He’s had the chance to reflect on what he gained in 2013, and what new driver additions Briscoe and Tony Kanaan can bring to the table this year.

“Tony brings a lot of different skills and a different personality, as does Ryan,” Kimball said. “I think going back from three to four cars will change the organization maybe more than what losing Dario (Franchitti) as a teammate will.

“Having said that, I think I will always miss having Dario as a teammate and competitor because of how much he helped me in the first three years, what his being involved in the team, being able to talk to meant. But gaining him as a mentor, assistant to the team, as a coach, he is invaluable.”

You don’t expect Kimball to be one of the talking points coming into the 2014 season, as there’s been so much other change within the Ganassi organization this winter.

But if he continues that year-on-year growth he’s shown thus far, expect Kimball’s driving to be earning him headlines as the season progresses.

The second season of “Dinner with Racers,” presented by Continental Tire, drops its first batch of episodes today.

The 28-episode season follows the first 28 episodes released last year. This year, podcast hosts and sports car veterans Sean Heckman and Ryan Eversley saddled up in a Honda Odyssey minivan for the cross-country tour, while riding on Continental Tires.

There’s some great guests and details. Here’s the full breakdown, plus a video, below:

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One year after the successful debut of the motorsport podcast series “Dinner with Racers,” the antics of Ryan Eversley and Sean Heckman have returned for the binge release of “Season Two,” launching today. Following their 2015 debut that featured a month-long road trip recording 26 conversations “over dinner” with some of the most interesting characters in motorsports, the duo will launch another 28 recordings for their 2016 adventure. The second season will be released in two waves, with “Release One” launching the first 14 recordings immediately, and “Release Two” featuring an additional 14 recordings slated to release on December 16. All episodes can be found at www.dinnerwithracers.com or via iTunes.

Traveling for 40 days across 29 states, and covering 12,000 miles in 2016, the trip was made possible in part by the Honda Odyssey that was lent to the team by American Honda Motor Co., Inc, and most importantly thanks to a continuing title partnership with Continental Tire, who not only provided Cross Contact LX20 tires for the trip but covered the team’s expenses, as well as every meal.

Continuing the same theme from the debut season, #DWR2 follows a nearly identical format. A factory racing driver for Acura in the World Challenge series, Ryan Eversley makes up half of the hosting lineup, with motorsport marketing / creative content veteran Sean Heckman completing the duo. Using their unique blend of humor, insight, experience, as well as genuine love of the sport, Eversley and Heckman pick up right where they left off in Season One, exposing some of the most unique and entertaining stories from their variety of guests.

Meeting up with 28 different characters “over dinner,” listeners will exposed to a variety of personalities, everything from NASCAR and IndyCar star drivers, to some of the most respected engineers and mechanics, journalists, and broadcasters in the business. Stories cover everything from what it was like to be the first woman to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 and then Daytona 500, to giving up a contract worth over $2mil just to be a “good guy,” to turning a satiric twitter account in to a full-time job, as well as enjoying life after nearly three decades in prison. Topics include everything from a transgender pig, to being given dead cat whiskers as a good luck charm, to having guns pulled in the middle of a race shop, and even buying a race track in the hopes of laundering money through it.

For Ryan Eversley, a chance to continue the series was a welcome one.

“I know it’s a cliché, but It truly is such an honor and a privilege to be able to do this,” stated Eversley. “Both Sean and I were truly blown away by the fan support from Season One, it’s honestly something we weren’t expecting. It really meant a lot to get so many nice comments, and that kept us very motivated for Season Two. I think our genuine love of the sport translates when people listen, because we really enjoy hearing the real back stories in what makes everyone so unique. This season did not disappoint us at all. This show lives and dies by its guests, and we couldn’t have been luckier to have such a great group who were not only engaging and interesting, but also incredibly gracious with their time. It’s an absolute blast doing this, and we really appreciate Continental for continuing their support, as well as Honda for giving us an incredibly comfortable car for such a long trip.”

For Sean Heckman, a similar sentiment is shared.

“What he said,” stated Heckman.

Additionally, the series will continue to support less exposed musical acts, with each episode promoting a variety of musicians and bands at the close of every episode.

Ahead of the event in Las Vegas, each of the 10 of the sim racers that have qualified have been paired up with a Formula E team.

“I’d like to officially welcome the sim racers who qualified through the Road to Vegas Challenge to participate in the inaugural Visa Vegas eRace,” Formula E CEO Alejandro Agag said.

“I’ve been following the progress of the sim racers throughout the qualification process, and I can’t wait to see them on the same track as the rest of the Formula E grid.

“Accessibility and fan engagement are two of the key cornerstones of Formula E, and what better way to promote this than getting the sim racers to compete in the same colours as their Formula E counterparts – it will be fascinating to see who comes out on top.”